November 13, 2013

Iranian Checkmate

By Rob Miller
What happened in Geneva depends a lot on whom you talk to. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's take on the matter is that the Iranians 'walked away' from the impending deal: According to Mr. Kerry the P5+1 group, representing the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, were united when the proposed deal was presented to the Iranian negotiating team on Saturday. "But Iran couldn't take it, at that particular moment they weren't able to accept," Mr Kerry said. Our hope is that in the next months we can find an agreement that meets everyone's standards." It appears that Mr. Kerry, who once spoke fluent French, has somehow lost that ability. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was publicly outspoken about France's opposition to the deal on the table, and refused to sign on. What the French wanted was the Iranians agreeing to halt work on their Arak heavy water reactor, which can produce plutonium and has no peaceful application. The French also insisted that...(Read Full Article)